It is well understood that configuration and size distribution of polymer and catalyst is correlated. As disclosed in Ludwig L. Bohm, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2003, 42, 5010-5030, that is, when the catalyst has sphere configuration and narrow range of size distribution, it will also produce polymer that has sphere configuration and narrow range of size distribution. Therefore, there is an attempt to improve size and configuration of polymer by using high activity catalyst.
Michael John Carney, U.S. Pat. No. 6,228,792 B1 (2001) disclosed the preparation of silica-carrier catalyst that was treated using butyl ethyl magnesium (BEMag). It was found that the catalyst prepared by this method gave a broad size distribution and produced a large amount of dust which was difficult to remove, or it was necessary to use an additional equipment to remove the dust resulting in higher production costs.
Maria A. Apecectche, Phuong A. Cao, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,259,125 A1 (2008) disclosed the preparation of catalyst wherein the silica support was prepared by using triethylaluminium as Lewis base. It was found that the catalyst prepared from this method did not provide substantially high activity.
The present invention, therefore, aims to increase the activity of catalyst by using Lewis acid. Meanwhile, the resulting catalyst will have narrow size distribution which will also prevent the problem of dust occurrence.